


unstuck in time

by pastelskrulls



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Gen, Mild Language, Time Travel, Timestuck, mabel is bad at time travel, stan is bad at childcare, tags and characters to be added as they show up, takes place after the last mabelcorn, title is from groundhog day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-02 13:59:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19442863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelskrulls/pseuds/pastelskrulls
Summary: mabel pines had seen a lot of weird things since arriving in gravity falls. previously, that list had been topped by 'secret basement portal to another dimension'. as of five minutes ago, it was a denture-less, yet just as grumpy, version of her grunkle stan who looked about thirty years too young.





	1. Chapter 1

Mabel stared down at the screws and plastic littering the sidewalk. She hastened to pick up the sparking time machine, flinching as her fingers burned on contact with the loose wiring. She pulled the tape out and let it snap back, waiting for the wash of blue light and tingling in her stomach, but none came. She tried again, a little panicked this time, and again, nothing happened. She sighed and dropped the thing into her super-secret-sweater-pocket, scooping up the smaller pieces and tucking them into one of the smaller pockets sewn into the wall of the sweater.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a snow-dusted parking lot outside a diner, advertising pizza and 24-hour service. Pizza sounded so good, and she hadn’t had time to eat dinner before everything happened. She tried to ignore the hunger gnawing at the edges of her stomach and tears building up behind her eyes. She shook her head and took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to cry. She was going to fix this and go back home. She was going to go home and apologize to Dipper, and hug her Grunkle Stan, and cuddle Waddles until she fell asleep. Everything was going to be okay, but for now she needed a plan.

Step one was to find shelter. Somewhere dry, and preferably warm. Then, find out where (and when) she was. From there she could find Einstein or whoever was a super-genius in this time period and zip-zap-zop, she would be home. She took a deep breath and started walking. Down the road from the diner, she could see a pub, a gas station, and something that looked like it would hold an underground casino (or maybe something more adult, but she wasn’t really supposed to know about that). All in all, none of her options were good, and most were too shady for her to trust. She started across the parking lot, but quickly stopped when she saw a red car, gleaming under an almost angelic light. On second glance, it was a streetlight, flickering in and out over the car parked outside the adult house, but that didn’t matter. All that Mabel cared about was the license plate, proudly emblazoned with ‘STNLYMBL’. It was cleaner than in her time and much less dented, but the car was clearly her grunkle’s.

She hurried over to the passenger side door, pulling a bobby pin from her hair. She was sure Stan wouldn’t mind if she snuck in, just to get out of the cold. Heck, he might even be proud of her for paying attention when he taught her how to pick a lock. At the time, she had promised herself she would never use it, but… Desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was a desperate time if she’d ever seen one. The door popped open easily, and she crawled inside, closing and relocking the door. She sighed in relief as warmth flooded her and flopped down on the front seat. She curled up, pulling her knees to her chest and tugging the sweater to stretch over her legs. It was warm and surprisingly comfortable for being littered with trash. She burrowed into the corner formed by the seatback and the door and let her eyes slip shut. Soon, they flew open again as a cold blast of wind flew into the car and a voice broke through the silence.

“What the Hell!”

Standing not three feet away from her, was Mabel’s grunkle, young and angry. Very intensely angry. She sat up, unfolding her legs, and gave him the biggest smile she could manage.

“Hi, I’m Mabel, your soon to be best friend!”

At that, Stan’s anger seemed to morph into confusion. “What the Hell are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, Mabel frowned, putting on her best not-angry-just-disappointed face. “You shouldn’t swear, especially not in front of kids.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “Have we met or somethin’? You seem weirdly comfortable with this.”

“Not yet.”

“So, what, are you workin’ for somebody?”

“Nope,” she said, “I was just cold and I saw your car, and I figured you wouldn’t mind if I got in for a second.”

“Well you’ve had your second, but you need to leave now.”

“What? But I don’t have anywhere to go! Please please, pretty please can I stay with you?”

“Kid, you don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. You don’t even know my name, why would you want to stay with me?”

“Because…” Mabel thought for a moment. She couldn’t tell him that he was her grunkle from the future, there was no way he’d believe that, and even if he did, messing with the timeline would just make Dipper angrier when she got back. “Because I’m a unicorn in human disguise and I can see that you’re pure of heart!” She knew that the only special talent unicorns had was mediocre rave music, but she was hoping Stan didn’t know that much about them.

He just gave her a weirder look. “Alright… Well, hows about I drop you off at the police station and they can help you find your parents or unicorn pack or whatever.” He finally climbed into the car, settling down beneath the wheel and shutting the door.

“No! I have to stay with you! Because, uh, I can only stay with a human of pure heart!”

He sighed, looking at her over the console. “Look kid, if you knew anything about me, you’d know I’m not pure of heart.” He gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. “Which means you’re obviously not a unicorn. So, why don’t you just tell me where you’re parents are and I’ll get you home.”

He was looking at her, exasperated and serious and almost nothing like the Stan she knew. “I can’t go back to my parents. I’m not sure if I ever can.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them and she felt the smile slip off her face.

Stan looked shocked, and he turned away from her, something glinting in his eye. “Oh, so it’s like… That. I- I’ve been there. Look, I’m not great with kids and I’m not in a great place right now, but if you really want to, and you’re really against going to the cops, you can stick with me, just for a day or two, till we find somewhere you can stay.”

Mabel jumped up, smile coming back full force. “Yes! Yes, thank you!” She flung herself at him, hugging him with all her might.

He laughed awkwardly and patted her arm before gently pushing her away. “Yeah, yeah, whatever kid.” He sighed. "I'm Stan."

She settled into the seat again, beaming as Stan started the car. Step one complete, she was staying with Stan, and she was sure she could convince him to let her stick around until she got everything sorted out. This was good, everything was going to be great.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one:  
> me: oh you want another chapter of this shitty fic?? alright then

Stan didn’t know what to think of the girl sitting in his passenger seat. She was. Well, she was odd. There was no getting around that. It wasn’t a bad thing necessarily, not at all, but it did make him fear for her sanity a bit. 

He heard her gasp next to him and shout “Surprise snack!” before eating half a burger off the floor of his car. Okay, maybe more than a bit. Or maybe, he realized, it was because kids need food. He’d long ago gotten used to hunger pangs, but this kid, bright, cheerful, and wearing a hand knit sweater of all things, was probably used to three meals a day. Whatever, she wanted to stay with him, this was her choice. That still didn’t get rid of the guilt of watching her finish off the cold burger.

“Uh, listen kid, there are better things you can eat than… that.” That was only partially true. Mostly because the thing would probably give her e-coli, and there wasn’t really anything worse in the car. “You want a peanut butter sandwich or something?”

Mabel looked up at him, already swallowing the burger, and smiled. “Nope! Secret surprise car snacks are the best!”

“Alright then.” He turned his attention back on driving, only to be interrupted again almost immediately.

“Hey Stan, where are we?”

“Just outside Dodgeville.” He said, not looking away from the road.

“No, I mean what state are we in? This doesn’t look like Oregon.”

He whipped over to look at her, only glancing back when he hit the rumble strip. “Oregon? Is that where you’re from?”

“Well it’s where I last was. Why? Where are we?”

“Kid… We’re in Wisconsin. How’d you end up all the way out here?” Christ, this kid was in more trouble than he thought. How does a kid end up halfway across the country without realizing it?

“Well, I had a fight with my brother and, um... Oh my gosh! Look, it’s cows!” He looked at her, nose pressed against the glass as she stared at the field of cows.

He felt something tighten in his chest at that. He couldn’t help feeling a kinship at that. A family she couldn’t go back to, a fight with her brother that landed her in nowhere Wisconsin. “Look kid, I won’t press but if you were kidnapped or something, you gotta tell me.”

“No, nothing like that.” She trailed off, falling back into her seat.

“Well, if you wanna talk about it, I’ve got some experience with that sorta thing.” It was an awkward and stilted offer, but it was the best he could give.

“Thanks, Stan.”

He wished he could tell her everything would be okay, that she’d be fine in the end, but. Well, look at him. Instead, he watched her fidget with her sweater, staring out the window. “Hey, it’s getting pretty late, hows ‘bout you try to get some sleep, huh?”

She nodded and rested her head against the window, breathing evening out.

Once he was sure she was asleep, Stan ran a hand over his face. What was he thinking? He couldn’t take care of a kid! Hell, he could barely take care of himself. But the way she had looked at him yesterday, he could hardly just leave her on the street, and he was pretty sure she would’ve run off if he tried to take her to the cops. It was probably for the best, he didn’t need to get caught up in any police work right now. In fact, it was about time Stanek Penzig disappeared altogether. They were about an hour out from Iowa, he could figure out a new identity on the way, he was thinking Stefan would be a cool name, and he hadn’t used it yet, but in the meantime he was fine with just letting whatever the current top hit was carry him through the silent night.

* * *

_ “Dipper, please! You need to tell me what’s going on!” Mabel grabbed her brother’s shoulder, trying to get him to face her. _

_ “I’m sorry Mabel, but I can’t, you just have to trust me, Grunkle Ford isn’t dangerous.” He pulled out of her grip, backing away towards his bed. _

_ “That’s not enough! I saw his study, there was Bill stuff everywhere, it was basically a shrine! It’s totally creepy!” That was an understatement. The room had been full of triangles, and eyes that seemed to watch you no matter where you stood. _

_ “Come on! I’ve trusted you this whole summer, why can’t you believe me for once?” _

_ “Because that was about gnomes and mermen! This is a demon, and I need to know what’s going on! Is Ford working with Bill?” _

Before Dipper could answer, the scene bled away. His face, angry and contorted, faded last, before finally being replaced with a familiar shape.

“HEY SHOOTING STAR, GOOD TO SEE YOU!”

“Leave me alone, you stupid triangle!”

“HEY KID, I DON’T MEAN ANY HARM. I JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW, YOUR UNCLE’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK. THERE’S A LOT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT HIM. A LOT HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW.”

“Why would you be telling me this? What do you want from me?”

“HEY, JUST CONSIDER IT A FAIR WARNING. I WOULDN’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT. AT LEAST, NOT BEFORE YOUR TIME!” He laughed, cold and vehement. It filled the space and sent a shiver down Mabel’s spine. “SERIOUSLY THOUGH, THINK ABOUT IT. YOU MIGHT HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR TRUST, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE’S GOT PINE TREE ALL CONVINCED.”

“I know who I trust, Bill, and it’s not you.” The thought still made her shake.

“FINE, BUT DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU. OH, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME, I GOTTA GO! BUT YOU STAY SAFE OUT THERE, SHOOTING STAR”

Bill left, but the rest of her dream was full of yellow slitted eyes, Ford’s study blanketed in Bill’s visage, and the Mystery Shack, burning to the ground with her family inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mabel and stan go for food and it goes about as well as you'd expect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for mentions of food and guns. also: the obligatory timestuck dine and dash scene

For as much as she loved the music, Mabel had to admit that she knew nothing about the 80’s. And judging from the young Stan and the songs on the radio, that was exactly where she was stuck. This was going to make step two of her plan significantly harder. Sure, she could recite all the lyrics to Warrior’s ‘Mane of the Lion’, but she couldn’t think of a single super genius who might be hanging around in the 1980’s. Well, not exactly.

There was Ford, of course. Though she knew far too well how awful Bill was, knew that she could never trust him, she also knew how manipulative he could be. Heck, he got Dipper to make a deal after he’d already tried to kill them all just a few short weeks beforehand. So what if Ford had never met him, had been convinced that he was good, that he wanted to help. And there was no other way to explain what she’d seen in his study. She couldn’t trust him. Not even to help her get home. The thought weighed heavily on her heart. The nightmares from last night, the fight with Dipper, the broken time machine: it was too much to handle, she needed something to distract her. She really wished she had been holding a ball of yarn when that stupid machine activated.

* * *

_“Dipper? You in here?” Mabel stood by the door for a second, moving on when no answer came. “Come on, Dip! Where are you? I just finished ‘Hot Teen Vampires’ and I think you should really give it a chance!” She stopped in front of her Grunkle Ford’s room. Dipper had been spending a lot of time together since the D &D&MD incident, maybe he was in there. She knocked on the door, which creaked open on rusty hinges. She didn’t see any sign of Grunkle Ford or Dipper, and was about to leave when she noticed a door at the back of the room, slightly ajar. She stepped closer and pushed it open. Behind the door was a spiral staircase, heading down. She leaned over the railing and called down, “Grunkle Ford? Dipper? Are you guys doing science-y stuff down there? Say nothing if you want me to come down and check!” As expected, she was met with silence. She ran down the stairs, stumbling a bit over her own feet as she reached the first landing. _

_“Whoa… Spooky.” She was in a room she’d never seen before. It was full of a mix of complicated looking gadgets and dusty books. She stepped further in, staring up at a broken T.V. monitor. “What?” She turned around and immediately jumped. Three large eyes stared down at her. She took a step back, slow and careful. She glanced around the room again, noticing the large gold statues of Bill, scattered on desks and shelves.” She looked back to the tapestries directly in front of her and felt her breath catch in her throat. She had to find Dipper._

* * *

“Stan, I’m hungry.”

Stan spared a glance at Mabel, who was sprawled across her seat, legs propped up on the window, before focusing back on the road. “Uh, I think I got some bread and peanut butter behind my seat...” He wasn’t quite sure if that was an entirely nutritional meal for a little girl, but it couldn’t be worse than the floor-burger.

“Yay! Sandwiches! Do you want me to make you one?” She was already scrambling out of the seat, bending over the console to grab the food.

“No thanks, kid.”

“Sweet Sally,” she muttered.

Stan looked at her again, and nearly gagged at the sight of a mold filled bag, green and nauseating. “Dam-p. That- that bread is damp.” _Nice save, genius,_ snarked a voice that sounded suspiciously like someone he’d rather not think about. “Well sandwiches are out of the question, I guess.” If he’d been alone, it wouldn’t be a problem to just continue driving and worry about food later, but he couldn’t do that to a kid. He threw a glance around the highway, eyes catching on a sign for food and a rest stop. “Well, how do you feel about pancakes?” Beside him, Mabel gasped, and he had to suppress a chuckle.

Stan merged into the exit lane, and soon they pulled up in front of a small blue and white restaurant. He made sure to park close to the door and run a hand through his greasy hair before stepping out of the car. Mabel followed close behind him, grabbing at his hand as they walked into the building. A hostess, listless and unenthused, led them to a booth and handed them their menus, muttering something about how someone would be with them soon. Stan could understand how she felt. Based on how early it was and the 24-hour service sign outside, she’d probably been there all night.

A waitress, much perkier than the hostess, came to serve them and take their drink orders. Stan glanced over the menu, hardly noticing as Mabel chatted happily with the waitress. She was either very social or very desperate for someone besides Stan to talk to. Maybe it was both, Stan realized. He hadn’t been exactly conversational after all. When the waitress came back, she brought their drinks and pulled out her pad, jotting down their orders.

Stan sat back, knitting his fingers together behind his head. “So, you got any family you can go to?”

Mabel spluttered and started choking on the apple juice she’d ordered, happy expression falling away.

“Hey kid, it’s okay. Like I said last night, I won’t press. I just wanna know if there’s anyone who could take care of you, I mean you can’t be all alone, can you?” Well, he was, but that wasn’t important.

She wiped her face with a napkin and then her smile returned full force. “Of course I’m not, I’ve got you!”

He sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Mabel, I can’t look after you forever. I’m sure you know that.”

“But-”

“Mabel, look, I know you haven’t been on the streets for a long time, but you have to look out for yourself. I’ll take you to any family you have, but after that I can’t stick around.”

“You’re- you’re leaving me?” He winced at the crack in her voice and almost wanted to take the words back when tears sprung up. “But, I don’t get it. I thought- when I found you I thought everything was going to be fine. But now you’re gonna leave me?” The tears were flowing freely now. He could hear the whispers of other customers around them.

“Hey, it’s okay, kiddo. Let’s talk about this in the car.”

The waitress returned, carrying a tray of food: pancakes for Mabel and an omelette for Stan. She gasped and crouched down next to the crying girl. “Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong?”

For a second, Stan was worried Mabel would spill the whole story and he’d end up in jail in literal Podunk, Iowa for kidnapping. But she just muttered something about a lost toy, which garnered a pat on the shoulder from the waitress who quickly set their food down and left. The two ate in silence, Mabel suppressing sobs and Stan trying his best not to blush under the other patron’s glares. 

When they’d both finished their meals, Stan leaned over the table, catching Mabel’s eye. “You ever heard of the dine-and-dash, kiddo?” She gave a small nod and he smiled, casting a glance around the restaurant and standing when he saw no one watching them. He started towards the door, but was stopped by a small hand grabbing the hem of his coat.

“Wait, we need to tip Maxine,” Mabel sniffed.

“Who’s Maxine?”

Mabel gave him an incredulous look. “Our waitress! She’s saving up to get a degree in environmental studies, and we need to tip her.”

Stan sighed. Even dining-and-dashing with this kid was difficult. “Fine, fine, we’ll tip Maxine.” He dropped a couple crumpled bills and some quarters on the table before grabbing Mabel’s hand and pulling her out the door. He could hear shouts coming from behind them and began running, throwing open the front door of the Stanley Mobile and picking Mabel up, placing her in the passenger seat and swerving out of the parking lot.

He didn’t slow down until they were on the freeway, about a dozen miles away with no sign of cops. Once they were away, Mabel spoke up, voice quiet and unsure. “Are you really gonna leave me?”

He grimaced. This was going nowhere near as well as he’d expected it to. “Mabel, I can’t take care of you. I know you want to hang around me for whatever reason, but I can’t even afford an omelette, much less supporting a kid.”

“But- but you’re all I have,” she whispered. And oh, God if that didn’t kill him.

“How old are you, Mabel?”

She sniffed, and he could see her wipe her nose on her sleeve. “I’m gonna be thirteen in a month.”

Stan sighed. He really couldn’t take care of a kid right now, but… He looked at her again, knees drawn up to her chest, eyes red and puffy. He couldn’t just drop this kid off on the side of the road and walk away. And she’d said he was all she had, so no chance of dropping her with other family. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, you can stay with me. But this is your choice, if you don’t like it, that’s on you.”

She let out a high pitched squeal, and soon Stan was tackled, drowning in a mass of yarn and hair. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” He felt a wet spot forming on his shoulder, soaking through his thin shirt.

“Kid! I’m driving!”

“Oh, sorry.” She sat back, laughing and smiling. “Thank you, Stan,” she whispered, so soft this time he barely heard it.

He was about to respond, about to crack a joke or tell her it was no problem, Hell, maybe even hug her, just real quick, when the car began to slow. “Uh-oh,” he muttered. He pulled over to the shoulder of the road and parked. “You stay put,” he said to Mabel, who was staring at him with big questioning eyes. He stepped out of the car and barely bit down the string of curses that leapt to his tongue at the sight of three guns pointed at his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop. find me on tumblr at pastelskrulls or for my gravity falls blog mabellpynes


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fistfights (ft. cheesy villain monologues)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for guns, non-graphic violence, and child endangerment

Standing in front of him was a man Stan had never wanted to see again. Admittedly, there were quite a few people that could apply to, including the entire state of Delaware, but this guy was one of the worse ones.

“Mahlon,” he muttered. “I’d hoped I’d never see your ugly mug again.” The man was a loan shark, with a large army of goons at his disposal, two of which were with him.

“Oh come on Stetson, even you couldn’t be dumb enough to think we wouldn’t find you. You know we always collect.”

“Look, I don’t have what I owe you. I’m broke.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Mahlon smirked. “With interest, you have exactly what we need from you. Your life.”

Stan wanted to roll his eyes at the line that sounded like it had been lifted directly from a spy movie with a british villain, but something about having three guns aimed at his head stopped the building laugh halfway up his throat.

“Come on Mahlon, just give me a day or two.”

“Sorry Stetson, you’re out of second chances.” And again with the stupid one liners.

Stan cast a glance around the roadside. He couldn’t see any cars without turning his head and he certainly didn’t hear any. There was a cornfield, maybe four yards away, and they were all standing on a gravel expanse, scattered with dry grass patches. No big structures to duck behind, except for the car that was surrounded on all but one side. Stan may have been arrogant sometimes, but he knew he wasn’t going to beat a bullet in a footrace.

There was a crunch of feet on gravel all three men whipped around to face whatever their new threat was. Stan took the distraction and ran behind the car, hunkering down. He heard a bit of a struggle and then Mahlon’s smug laughter.

“Really, you’re riding with a kid now? You’ve gone soft, Stetson.”

Stan stood and felt his blood run cold. Of course Mabel hadn’t listened to him. Of course she had left the car to see what was going on. Or maybe she’d  _ seen  _ the guns and had decided the best thing to add to this fight was a twelve year old girl. Either way, Mahlon was holding a gun to her head and Stan was outnumbered three to one. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He’d just agreed to take care of her, to make sure she was safe, and now she was about to have her brains blown out. His heart pounded in his ears as he tried to think strategically. First priority was getting the gun away from Mabel’s face, but he couldn’t make a move without-

“Ah! Fuck! You little brat!” Mahlon had dropped Mabel, and was instead clutching his hand. Stan watched her scamper away towards the car. Okay good, that was problem one taken care of. He heard the crunching of gravel again and spun, only to come face to face with the barrel of a gun.

He moved quickly, grabbing the man’s elbow and twisting until he dropped the weapon. Stan kicked it away, watching it slide a few yards, and started grappling with the man. Stan had never been weak, at least he hadn’t been in a long time, but this man was strong. Strong and built like a brick shithouse. As the man was about to take him down, Stan heard the clang of metal and bone. The man paused for a moment, and then his eyes rolled back into his head as he fell forwards, Stan scurrying away to avoid getting pinned. From somewhere in front of him, Stan heard Mabel scream “Grappling hook!”

He didn’t spare another second on the man, now lying face down in the gravel, before he turned and threw another punch, knocking the second goon flat on his ass. He dropped, elbow first, and made contact with his gut, relishing in the sharp scream. It had been a while since his last fight; he’d forgotten how good it could feel. He punched the man again, and only winced a bit at the sickening crack when his head slammed into the ground, knocking him out cold.

All that was left now was Mahlon. He rounded and charged the man. As awful as he was, Mahlon didn’t fight his own battles. At least, not often enough to be any match for Stan. He quickly subdued the man and stood, frantically looking for Mabel. He found her, staring in awe just a few feet away.

“Mabel! Are you okay?”

She nodded slowly and then pulled a face. “His hand tasted awful. Like cigarettes and wet dog.”

“His hand? Did you bite that creep?”

“Yeah, how else was I supposed to get him to drop me?”

“Right, right, of course.” Stan moved to the trunk, digging through the trunk, and came up with a half used roll of duct tape. “Alright, this should be okay.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Nothing to worry about, just gonna tape em up and put em in that field.”

“Stan, you can’t do that!”

“Kid, no offense, but I don’t think your heads on right. These guys just tried to kill us.”

“Well yeah, but shouldn’t they go to jail? That’s what happened last time someone tried to kill me!”

“Last time someone- No, y’know what it doesn’t matter. These guys can’t go to jail because Mahlon has pull with pretty much every politician you could want to have pull with.” When Mabel offered no further protests, Stan continued on wrapping their wrists in silver tape and covering their mouths, as well as flipping through their wallets and pocketing some cash. He then dragged them far enough into the cornfield that they wouldn’t be found until Mabel and Stan were long gone.

Next he moved his attention to the car, and had to suppress an eye roll at the bullet shot tire. He pulled his tools from the backseat and the spare tire he’d managed to grab off some idiot’s car a few months ago and got to work. He rolled the wrecked tire into the field too, not really caring where it landed. “Geez, who would’ve thought Iowa would be so much trouble.”

Finally, he was ready to leave, and climbed into the car. Once they were back on the highway, he looked again at Mabel. He was beginning to realize she was a lot weirder than just eating food off a stranger’s car floor. In fact…

“Hey, how did you knock that guy out?”

She seemed to brighten at the question, reaching into a pocket he hadn’t even noticed on her sweater and pulling out a “Grappling hook!”

“Ah! Volume control, sweetie,” he muttered.

“Sweetie?” Her voice was soft as she repeated the word.

Stan felt himself blush. “Sorry, that just slipped out, I won’t-”

“No!” He winced as she still ignored the fact that they were stuck in a very small space together. “No, I like it!” She was smiling, big and goofy, and he couldn’t figure out why.

“Alright then. So, where’d you get a grappling hook anyways?”

Mabel went quiet, fiddling with the hem of her sweater. “My, um, uncle gave it to me.”

That sounded like one helluva story, but Stan could see it wasn’t one she wanted to talk about. “Hey,” he leaned over and ruffled her hair. “Whaddaya say we get out of this Hel-heck state? I think we’ve gotten into more trouble than Iowa is really worth.”

“Yeah! Where are we gonna go?”

“Well that depends. Minnesota or South Dakota?”

She thought for hardly a second before shouting, “South Dakota! I wanna see Wall Drug!”

“Heh, sorry sweetie, we’re not stopping for that, it’s all just a big tourist trap.”

“I know! Isn’t it great? I wanna sit on that big antleabbit!”

“Uh, do you mean jackalope?”

She pursed her lips. “No, I don’t think that’s right.”

“Whatever you say, I guess. Well, strap in we got a long ways to go if we wanna get out of this terror state before midnight.”

* * *

They did end up stopping at Wall Drug, despite Stan’s protests, and Mabel had seen the Jackalope (“I’m telling you, it’s an antleabbit! I’m an expert on the supernatural!” “Kid, ain’t nothing supernatural about a rabbit with deer antlers glued to it’s face.”), the dinosaurs, and the paintings. Stan had sipped his free water and just followed where she led. As much as he hated being on the side that got screwed in any money making scheme, Stan had to admit, it was amazing what people would pay money for.

Eventually, they left and Stan had been able to get a motel room with the money he’d…  _ appropriated _ from Mahlon. Neither of them had much to take up to the room, and Mabel had nothing in the way of a change of clothes. Stan had ended up grabbing one of the less grimy shirts from the backseat and dropping it on her bed as a pajama shirt.

“Hey Mabel, I’m gonna call my Ma, how about you go take a shower or bath or whatever before I use up all the hot water.” She nodded eagerly, and Stan felt a bit bad about not being able to get her a shower earlier. Though, she’d only been with him for two nights. It was odd, he thought as the phone rang, it felt like longer. She was sure more comfortable around him than she should be. Ah well, maybe she’d just gone too long without someone to trust and latched onto the first person who came along. Lord knows he’d done it.

“Hello?” His Ma answered, disinterested and listless. Stan could practically picture her, sitting at the little windowside table, filing her nails as the cat chewed on her tarot deck.

“Hey, Ma.”

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face when she gasped. “Stanley, my little free spirit! Where have you been? It’s been ages since you called!”

“Oh come on, Ma. It’s only been a couple weeks, you know I can never go long without talking to you.”

“Well where are you now?”

“Why dontcha use some psychic abilities to figure that out?”

“Well Stanley, I don’t think you could afford my rates,” she said.

He laughed, “Ma, I don’t think anyone can. I’m in South Dakota right now, got a motel just a little out of Wall Drug.”

“What are you doing out by that touristy crap?”

“I… I got a friend o’ mine with me. We decided to do a little sightseeing while we’re out here, and she’s never been.”

“She?” He could practically hear the eyebrow raise on the other end.

“Oh God, Ma! Not like that! She’s this little girl, twelve years old. She broke into my car a couple nights ago and wouldn’t leave me alone. Now, I guess we’re going on a road trip.”

“Awww, Stanley, I always knew you’d be a great father.”

“Ma, it’s not like I’m adopting her or anything. I’m just watching over her for a bit.”

“Sure, sure. And this road trip, have you got anywhere you’re going?”

“Not really, just not anywhere I’m banned.”

“Well, are you banned from Oregon?”

“Nah, haven’t had a chance yet. Why?”

“Stanley, you’re brother called the other day, worried out of his mind looking for you. I think he’s mixed up in something dangerous and he kept saying he needed you.”

Stan bit his lip. He didn’t want to get his hopes up but… “Shermie?”

He could hear his mother soften, even the hard Jersey accent seemed more gentle. “Stanford.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 5 is completed and will be out tomorrow. anyways tumblr is pastelskrulls gravity falls blog mabellpynes


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stan and mabel go roadtrippin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much happens in this one but i think its good, we got that sweet sweet bonding

Stan decided to wait until morning to let Mabel know where they were headed. If it had been just him, he would have left right after getting after the phone with his Ma. But one look at Mabel told him she needed a night of sleeping in a real bed. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he did too. It had been ages since he could afford a motel, and even longer since he could justify wasting money on one.

Well, while he had it, might as well take full advantage. He took a long, warm shower and soaked the spare change of clothes he had in the tub and rubbed at them with the extra bar of soap, and then he did the same with Mabel’s shirt and skirt, though she said he couldn’t touch the sweater. He was fine with that, less work that way.

He ran a hand through his knotted hair. It wasn’t greasy anymore, but it still looked a little too homeless for meeting Ford again. Sure, technically he  _ was _ homeless, but Ford didn’t need to know that. He pulled his fingers through, wincing as they caught on each knot and tangle.

“Stan?” Mabel asked through a yawn.

“What’s up, sweetie?”

“Do you need help with your hair?”

“I- Yeah, actually.”

She hopped off her bed and climbed onto his, standing behind him. “No offence, Stan, but why do you care about your looks  _ now _ ?”

“I’m meeting someone very important in a couple days.” He answered. She was brushing out his hair with her fingers, smaller and probably more used to this much hair.

“Everyone you meet could be important, you know,” she said as she worked her way up his hair.

“That’s very optimistic of you, you write Hallmark cards or something?”

She blew a raspberry right in his ear. “You don’t always have to look on the dark side, the bright side is very pretty.”

Stan thought back on the sunny days after school, building the Stan O’ War with his brother, or tracking down cryptids along the Jersey boardwalk. “Yeah, I’ve been there. It was nice.” He didn’t mention to Mabel that the bright side had decided he wasn’t good enough. Had pushed him out and never looked back. She was just a kid, she didn’t need that sort of stress. Of course, she was a kid who was living with a total stranger out of his car. Maybe she was just better with stress than he was.

“So, who are you meeting? Am I invited?”

“Heh, ‘course you’re invited, what else am I supposed to do with you?” Her hands stilled for just a moment, but picked up soon enough that Stan was almost sure he was imagining things. “We’re going to see my brother. He lives in some Podunk town in Oregon. Now, Mabel had completely stilled, hands still in his hair. “Uh, Mabel? Sweetie, you okay?”

“Wh- what town is it?”

“Uh, Gravy something. I wrote it down, let me check the addre-”

“Gravity Falls?”

“Yeah, that’s it. How’d you know that? Take it from an ex-professional gambler, those were some pretty long odds.”

“Lucky guess?”

Stan shot her a withering glance.

“I read a lot of maps?”

“Mabel, is that where your family is? We don’t have to go, I can just call my brother and tell him I can’t make it.”

“No! You need to go see him and make up!”

“Who said anything about us fighting?” And, yes they were but how would she possibly know that?

“Um, I- I need to go to sleep. I have this little child body, I need my sleep to grow up healthy! Good night!” She jumped off the bed and burrowed under her own covers. She was facing away from him, but Stan could tell she was tense. He frowned and ran a hand through his half brushed out hair.

* * *

Mabel woke up early the next morning. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window as Stan snored in the background. They were going to Gravity Falls. To see Ford. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel about that. If Dipper were here, he would know. Would say ‘No, we can’t trust anyone who might be working with Bill,’ or ‘Yes! Grunkle Ford can fix the Time Tape and get us home!’ and Mabel would go along with his plan. She buried her head in her hands. She shouldn’t have fought with Dipper, she should have just trusted him. But how could she if he wouldn’t tell her what was going on? She groaned and flopped backwards.

“Rough night, kiddo?” She jumped at the voice. Sitting on the other bed, closer to the door, was Stan, hair still half knotted from the night before.

“I’m sorry I didn’t finish your hair. I’ll fix it before we get to your brother’s house.”

“Hey,” he stood and crossed the small distance between the beds, kneeling in front of her. “Are you sure you’re okay? If Gravity Falls isn't… Safe for you, we don’t have to go, I mean it.”

“No, it’s perfectly safe,” she thought of the gnomes and the ghosts and the other monsters in the woods before adding, “For me. It’s just,” she sighed. “It’s happy memories. And I know that sounds stupid, but they’re memories I’m afraid- I’m afraid I’ll never get to make again.” She thought of never seeing Dipper or Waddles or her Stan and Ford again. Of never having another sleepover with Candy and Grenda, never getting to go from frenemies to friends with Pacifica, never going back home to California. She thought of everyone moving on without her, and she nearly wanted to cry.

“I don’t think that’s stupid at all,” Stan whispered.

She lifted her head. “Really?”

“Really. I’m scared to see my brother again, not despite all the good times we’ve had, but  _ because _ of them. And I’m scared that our meeting now will be nothing like our childhood.” He grabbed her hands in his, enveloping them. “It’s okay to be nervous about going back to a happy place.”

“Thank you, Stan.” She murmured.

“Eh, it’s no problem. Now, let’s get ready for checkout, we should get to Gravity Falls in a couple days, but if we get a move on, we should get there by tomorrow night.”

* * *

By the time they were an hour out from Gravity Falls, Mabel insisted they stop at the first rest stop they saw. She ran off as soon as the car was slow enough to hop out, and Stan sat down at one of the abandoned benches and tables. He had picked up a complimentary magazine, reading about the year’s top movies and songs.

“Stan, do you want me to finish brushing your hair?”

Stan looked up from where he’d sat at the rest station, finding Mabel standing in front of him, arms full of paper, safety pins, tissues, and paperclips. “Uh, yeah but, what’s all that for? You’re not gonna ‘Sweeney Todd’ me, are ya?”

Mabel laughed, but all she said was, “It’s a secret.” She sat herself down atop the picnic table and began running her hands through his hair, the same as the night in the motel, until it was looser than he could remember it ever being. She sat for a moment, not touching his hair, but she wouldn’t let him leave or look at what she was doing. And then she grabbed his hair again, separating it into three chunks. She folded the pieces over and over, and he could feel her tucking other non-hair items into the ‘do.

“And, voila! My masterpiece is complete!” She held up a mirror, cracked and broken, that she’d dug up from the backseat while on the road the day before. He took it and was almost surprised by his reflection. His hair was a definite improvement, neatly braided and held back with little paper flowers weaved in throughout.

Mabel leaned forwards a bit, smile diminishing for just a half second. “So, what do you think?”

Stan smiled. “It’s perfect, sweetie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 6 isn't finished yet and ive got an internship im starting tomorrow so there will be more of a delay, but it shouldnt be too long. find my writing blog on tumblr at pastelskrulls or gravity falls blog at mabellpynes


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